Sorry I have been so quiet these last two weeks. After 10 years with the same firm, I resigned and took a job at different firm. I spent several weeks transitioning my old job to new people, then spent last week getting accustomed to my new job with new people.

One big challenge with the new job is that I am now having to commute from my house to the office. The first day I attempted to drive the 77km and it took 2.5 hours. So I resolved the next day to take the train. But when you factor in the 20 minute drive to the train station, the 70 minute train ride, and the 5 minute shuttle van ride from the train station to the office building, I am still looking at a very long round-trip commute each day. Previously, I have been working from my home every day.

Alas, there is no WiFi internet on the train, and my mobile reception is sketchy over a long stretch of the ride. So not really able to visit this thread going back and forth to work.

However, on the positive side, my office is right next to the water, along the harbour in Stamford, CT. So, of course, now I am thinking that perhaps the time to acquire the performance cruiser may be sooner rather than later, if I can figure out what to do during the winter months. I noticed that there are still quite a few boats in the water, despite the very cold weather (-10C to -20C some days), though the harbour has not frozen. But living aboard in those conditions would not be very much fun. Perhaps it is good enough to be able to live on the boat, near the office, from May until the end of November. Would save money in commuting and allow me to go sailing after work very easily, in summer.

For this reason, I am now looking very long and hard at the Elan 320 (not the 210) and trying to figure out if it's financially viable.

Anyway, I'll do my best to keep up here and contribute. It's my favorite site on the Web.

...
However, on the positive side, my office is right next to the water, along the harbour in Stamford, CT. So, of course, now I am thinking that perhaps the time to acquire the performance cruiser may be sooner rather than later, if I can figure out what to do during the winter months. I noticed that there are still quite a few boats in the water, despite the very cold weather (-10C to -20C some days), though the harbour has not frozen. But living aboard in those conditions would not be very much fun. Perhaps it is good enough to be able to live on the boat, near the office, from May until the end of November. Would save money in commuting and allow me to go sailing after work very easily, in summer.

For this reason, I am now looking very long and hard at the Elan 320 (not the 210) and trying to figure out if it's financially viable.

Anyway, I'll do my best to keep up here and contribute. It's my favorite site on the Web.

So good news. You have a ELan Dealer and a Salona dealer on the States.
I don't know if you had saw the recent posts about the Salona 33 and the Elan 320?

I would say that the Salona is a better regatta boat and the Elan a better solo one. Both has dealers in the US and the Salona 33 is going to be at the Miami boat show. If I was you I would say to both dealers that you are undecided between the two boats and that you are going to race the boat. A motivated dealer can really bring the prices down

Bob, back on chines and on X-yachts. The new big passagemaker has not but the last performance cruiser, the 33 is the first one with chines. The one before that, the Xp 38 has not. It seems that Niels Jeppesen is just starting to use them. Some of the French Na use them already for years.

"there will be a smaller mast, reduced sail area and a system for manouvres slightly adapted..."
still - incredible if this monster is sailed solo...
the main alone has 450 mē... a whole family with 4 generations could live comfortably in a place that big...

I had the same doubts regarding Groupama, now Banque Populaire V on the last Route du Rhum. At the time the boat had finished to beat the world circumnavigation absolute record with Cammas and his crew and even some on the crew doubted that the boat could be sailed solo.

The rest is history, not only Cammas sailed successfully the boat solo as he won the race. Today we look at Armel on the same boat beating record after record and it seems almost easy

But one thing is to know if the boat can be sailed solo and I am pretty sure it can, even if the boat is bigger, other is to know if the power will be not too much to be handled for a solo sailor and if on account of that Armel on the smaller and less powerful boat would not be faster.

That had happened already on Open60 (Imoca) where today's fastest boats are not the more powerful (some of previous generation boats were more powerful).

In fact the future generation boats will all be less powerful since they have cut on the maximum allowed RM and contrary for instance with VOR, they are going to compete directly with the lighter and more powerful boats. It is going to be very interesting to see if the gains in design and more freedom in what regards design (water tanks) will be enough to compensate the weight and power disadvantage. There are some that doubt about that.

agreed.
but armel le cleach is on a different tri... BP VII is 8.5 m shorter, has "only" a 33.5 m mast and the total sail area on a close haul is 411 mē...
compare that with BP V - 40 m length, 47 m mast and as posted, the main alone has 450 mē... BP V was designed for crewed sailing and it is mentioned that they are going to reduce mast and sail area to make it manageable for a single sailor...
BP VII in fact is not so far above an open 60 when we talk sail area and mast height which armel sailed on various occasions around the globe already...

i am completely with you in regards manageable power and that slightly less powerful boats might be faster since they are easier to sail and therefor easier to bring to their designed speed...

agreed.
but armel le cleach is on a different tri... BP VII is 8.5 m shorter, has "only" a 33.5 m mast and the total sail area on a close haul is 411 mē...
compare that with BP V - 40 m length, 47 m mast and as posted, the main alone has 450 mē... BP V was designed for crewed sailing and it is mentioned that they are going to reduce mast and sail area to make it manageable for a single sailor...
BP VII in fact is not so far above an open 60 when we talk sail area and mast height which armel sailed on various occasions around the globe already...

i am completely with you in regards manageable power and that slightly less powerful boats might be faster since they are easier to sail and therefor easier to bring to their designed speed...

Grupama, the one that Cammas sailed solo was also designed for crewed sailing, as I have said they had just finished to beat the world's circumnavigation record that was later beat by Peyron on the one that is actually Spindrift. I don't think that in the Grupama case the mast was shortened but all the running rigging was modified.

It is a case to see what is possible or not but I believe that there is a limit and maybe Spindrift is just too big...or maybe not

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